Wednesday, October 29, 2008

MAW attended the screening of Who Does She Think She Is?, part of the Columbus International Film + Video Festival. The film was well-rounded, documenting not only the struggles and sacrifices of women and mother artists, but also the difference that can be made with the support of family and community. Artist Janis Wunderlich and the filmmaker's sister (who lives in Columbus) were both on hand for a Q&A afterwards. I enjoyed how down-to-earth and open they were.

Sadly, the filmmaker, Pamela T. Boll, is now living the message of the film: the arts are male-dominated, and women are fighting all odds to succeed. She cannot find a distributor for the film, even though it is getting rave reviews. Evidently, "there is not enough interest in the subject matter."

So prove them all wrong! Go to the website, sign up, buy the DVD when it's released, host or attend a screening -- whatever you've got to do to support the film and get the message out!

During the Q&A, Melissa pointed out the film was started in 2005, the same year as our group! The phrase "birthing the art" was used many times during the film, and the name of our show in 2006 was "Birthing the Artist." We thought this was a cool coincidence.

Our Mission - Since 2005

The mission of Mother Artists at Work, a non-profit association of mothers working in the arts, is to support and promote artists who are mothers through networking, professional development, and exhibit opportunities, as they work to keep career and family in balance.

We meet twice every month. Meeting topics vary and include creating art, mini-workshops, support, critique, and social networking. Email for more information and locations.